Louis ran quickly up to the seventh floor, climbing the stairs as fast as he could in order to reach the eighth floor.
The sorcerer grabbed him and said coldly, "This is the last floor you will breathe in, Louis."
Louis shoved him away using magic once again and ran toward the eighth floor.
He hid inside a place in the theater area and collapsed, sitting down.
From his pocket, he took out the map Alex and Daph had given him.
"I'm going to die… Alex… Daph…" Louis whispered. "I won't be able to fulfill your dream… or mine…"
"Everything is arranged against me… everyone wants to hurt me… I don't even know why…"
Tears slowly fell from his eyes without a sound.
"I think it's okay if I cry now… before I die…"
"If only I hadn't eaten that food… I would have gone to the teachers' dorm and—"
A sound of footsteps interrupted him.
The sorcerer stood behind him.
"Oh, Louis?" the sorcerer said with a dark laugh. "What is it?"
He continued laughing. "I was the one who sent that girl to give you the food. So you would get weak and unable to defend yourself."
In an instant, he pulled Louis's wand from his hand and threw it away.
Louis, already weakened, could no longer defend himself.
"Poor thing," the sorcerer said as he grabbed Louis by the collar and lifted him up angrily before slamming him to the ground.
"The food you ate contained illusion magic and poison… meaning…"
He looked down as Louis crawled desperately toward his wand.
The sorcerer stepped on Louis's hand, making him scream in pain.
"…you were never going to escape. You were going to die either way."
"But I didn't stop there," the sorcerer continued. "I wanted to kill you myself… and see you in fear."
He pulled out a cursed sword, glowing with a purple aura like dark smoke surrounding it.
He raised the blade high above his head, ready to strike Louis down.